30 August 2010

THE ABELLANA National School (ANS)-Pomeroy showed that it is ready to defend its Boys 17 title after routing Blessed John 2-0 in the 13th Aboitiz Football Cup, which came off the wraps yesterday at the Aboitiz Sports Field, North Reclamation Area in Mandaue City.

Earlier in the Players 10 division, last year's 1st runner-up Guiseppe Football Club did not have much luck as it lost to Subangdaku Football Club, 4-3.

Tournament director Adonis Quitoy, however, explained that yesterday's matches were just exhibitions and will not have any bearing as they have yet to finalize the game schedules within the week.

Matches will be played every weekend with all teams to enjoy the same number of games.

Most of last year's division champions have returned to this year's edition hoping to defend their titles.

29 August 2010

SIMON McMenemy has roughly six weeks to prepare for his first international tournament as manager of the Philippine Men’s National Team (MNT).

In an Aug. 25 article published on England’s Worthing Herald (courtesy of a post from Filipinofootball.blogspot.com), the 32-year-old coach flew in last Monday to the Philippines for his new stint.

McMenemy will be on a two-month probation before signing a one-year contract, if things go well, the article said. The Englishman was the former assistant manager of Worthing Football Club, which plays at an eight-tier division in English football.

Following the unfortunate Des Bulpin experience, I am sure the National Team Management Office under football visionary Dan Palami has learned its lessons and will try its best to insulate McMenemy from the toxic elements of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).

Earlier this month, Palami had told me that so far, the PFF has granted the management office’s wishes for non-interference.

Hopefully, Palami, who is single-handedly financing the MNT, and McMenemy could forge a potent partnership within this two-month period for a decent showing at the AFC Suzuki Cup that kicks off Oct. 20.

Like McMenemy, another national team coach is looking at only a few weeks to before a big tournament.

Philippine Women’s Under-16 Coach Leticia “Buda” Bautista is hoping to build a team for the AFC Qualifiers on Oct. 15.

She has conducted tryouts in Bacolod, San Carlos City and yesterday in Cebu. Today, she is flying to Davao.

So what does Buda think of yesterday’s tryouts?

“The girls need to improve their basic skills,” she said yesterday after the tryouts at the Aboitiz football field, adding that some of those who were technically sound were “inconsistent.”

She was quick to add, though, that the girls’ performance, given the short span of time to show their wares, could have been mainly due to “kaba” or nervousness.

Buda might be nervous herself with the tough international competition ahead of her.

By next week, she would have picked the members of the U-16 squad.

When I asked her of her expectations, her answer was grounded: “During the tournament, what we want is to control the games.”

That meant not allowing the teams to dictate the tempo and to stop them from scoring.

Buda doesn’t aim for the spectacular, but she pointed out that the U-16 selection serves a far-reaching purpose.

“With the core of the U-16 squad, we can identify U-14 players, and for the long term, the U-19,” she said with a hint of optimism.

Before the games proper, there will be a short opening ceremony with Aboitiz Foundation president Jon Ramon Aboitiz leading the honored guests.

This year’s edition features the players 8, 10, boys12, 17, men’s open and men’s 38-above, while the distaff side will have the girls 17 and women’s open.

Winning the title will be a lot more tougher as organizers decided to convert the event from a cup-type to league type.

Being a league-type, each team can now enjoy a regular action except in the players 8 and 10 categories, which will be playing for a 9-a-side action since they are yet too young for the 11-a-side battle. All classes, however, will enjoy as much as nine games in the elimination round.

More than the games and title, players and coaches also have something else to look forward to with the Aboitiz Foundation looking into the possibility of offering educational scholarship grants to deserving players.

Aboitiz Foundation president Jon Ramon Aboitiz is open to the idea of giving a scholarship grants to deserving athletes playing in the Aboitiz Cup since the foundation’s trust is geared toward education and values formation.

With that, the Aboitiz Cup richly deserved to be called the premiere football action in Cebu, not only for being able to help out Cebu football become more popular, but also give more inspiration to the youngsters to play well for education.

In another development, the Cebu Football Association, which is handling the Aboitiz Cup, will also be facilitating a try-out for the RP girls under-16 squad today. (THE FREEMAN)

FORMER Worthing Football Club assistant manager Simon McMenemy has gone from the dug-out at Woodside Road to become an international manager with Philippines in the space of four months.McMenemy, who left Rebels with Simon Colbran at the end of last season after one year at the club, flew out to the Philippines on Monday after being offered the job just nine days earlier. He will be on a two-month probabtion period before, if things go well, he will sign a one-year deal.

The 32-year-old was manager at County League Haywards Heath before his spell at Worthing and, before the call, was going to be playing football for Franklands Village in the Mid Sussex League this season.

He said: "Haywards Heath to Worthing to the Philippines. It's quite a big step but I had to grab the chance.

"At 32, to call myself a national team manager is a massive statement.

"Things have gone 100 miles an hour. I've had nine days to prepare, my fiancée is coming out with me for the first two months, and everything has been very rushed. If I stopped to think about it, I might get cold feet. It's something I've got to do and there's no denying it will look fantastic on my CV.

"I'm stepping into the unknown. When I get there, I've got a four-week training camp, then we're off to Taiwan for a couple of weeks for a training camp and a couple of friendlies, then we're into qualifying for the Suzuki Cup, where we will play Laos, Cambodia and Timor Leste.

"If we get through that, then we'll come up against some of the bigger teams, like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, so I could get to coach against Bryan Robson, which would be some experience."

McMenemy first heard about the job through Simon and Phil Greatwich, who played for Lewes and the Philippines, and they encouraged him to apply for the job.

Five weeks after applying, McMenemy heard back from the Philippines FA and after a couple of interviews over the phone and conference calls, he got the job. He said: "I'll be looking at the coaching when I'm there and will see if I can tweak anything to improve things and make it more effective.

"I've spent my fair share of time in the Far East, and got one international cap for Brunei, so I have some understanding of their style of football.

I've got two months to go out there and prove myself as an individual."I'm untested at this level and have to prove I can do the job."

Dolphins United, UniPhil, and Ilonggo United FC have been acceptedas the three teams that will join both the Second Division of theLBC-UFL League that will kickoff in January and the LBC-UFL Cup whichwill kickoff in October! They replace United South FC, Mendiola FC, and Diliman.

Stallions FC, Laos FC and Manila Sudanese Club are ready for the LBC-UFL Cup in October.

THE Negros Occidental Football Association (NOFA), in cooperation with the Carlos Cojuangco Foundation, Inc., will be conducting try-outs for the Union Football Club (UFC) tomorrow (Saturday) starting 7:30 a.m.

Football players aged 19 to 25 are invited to join the try-outs at the Bago City Sports Complex football field.

West Negros University coach Norman Fegidero Jr. will facilitate the said try-outs.

The UFC will be fielded in the United Football League set sometime in October 2010 in Manila.

25 August 2010

CEBU, Philippines - Defending men’s open champion Queen City United opened its title retention bid with back-to-back victories in the 6th San Roque Football Cup at San Roque Football field in Subangdaku,Mandaue.

In its first assignment, QCU silenced JCAD, 1-0, under group D and a few moments later it mercilessly beat D’Barkads,7-0.

Earlier, D’Barkads had a scoreless draw with Prossimo.

On the other hand, Team Rocket enjoyed a solo leadership under group C after posting a 2-0 win-loss card.

Team Rocket pulled away with a 2-0 mark over Team Consolacion and escaped past S1 Football Club, 2-1.

The other group C action saw the University of Southern Phippines’ Alumni and Consolacion ending with a 1-all draw.

In group B, San Roque Royale United-B defeated Immaculadistas, 2-0 while SRRU’s team A enjoyed a no-sweat win over Boys Hi Alumni squad who was a no-show the other night.

A total of 21 squads are vying for gold in the men’s open, while the distaff side has five. (FREEMAN)

REFEREES are used to making difficult calls. But this has to be the toughest one so far: Cebu’s group of referees want out of the Cebu Football Association (CFA).A CFA insider told me about the news yesterday late afternoon, a day after the referees held a meeting on the matter.

The first tournament to be affected by the referees’ pullout threat is the Aboitiz Cup, which has prompted the CFA to acquire the services of referees from outside Cebu, such as San Carlos City, for the duration of the 11-a-side tournament that kicks off this weekend.

So what’s the deal with the breakaway?

Apparently, the referees feel they don’t have much freedom under the CFA, as it does not allow them to officiate tournaments not sanctioned by the organization.

Two weeks ago, during a futsal tournament, one of those who helped the organizers described the sanctions as “mora silag gihiktan” (similar to being tied up).

By breaking away, the referees believe they will have more room to participate in more tournaments, which translates to more needed income on their part. They also reportedly plan to form an independent organization registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

With the existing structure, the referees, along with the coaches and clubs, are under the CFA umbrella. So, the number of times the refs can officiate is dependent on how many tournaments the CFA organizes.

Some organizers, however, refuse to get sanctioned under the CFA, which charges from P1,500 to P4,500 sanctioning fee per tournament, depending on the number of teams.

Without the sanction, a referee under the CFA is prohibited from officiating the games. This is standard policy among legit football associations under FIFA, the world’s governing body.

But is it really necessary for an FA to stop referees from officiating non-sanctioned tournaments?

The CFA insider explained that if they allow this practice, an organizer would no longer see the need for sanctions, which are deemed necessary particularly in instilling legitimacy, order and discipline within a big organization.

“Why would organizers opt to get sanctioned with the CFA when they can get referees without paying the sanctioning fee?” he said.

Apart from their demand for fewer restrictions, the referees reportedly also feel that with its falling out with the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), the “weakened” CFA can no longer offer the referees skills training and other official programs.

It also appears that the referees’ group has joined the camp that has been at odds with the CFA for the past year. This camp reportedly has established ties with PFF president Mari Martinez, who has waged war with a number of FAs all over the country, including the CFA.

The CFA is not blameless in numerous problems it has found itself in. In this latest headache, whether the CFA has fully spelled out to the referees the repercussions of their actions is one thing. Having paid real attention to their concerns is another.The CFA insider, though, believes that the move is “political and personal.”

But is the decision of the referees to sever ties with the CFA a sound decision or a bad call?

The referees believe they can bypass CFA authority with the approval of the PFF through Martinez.

The PFF president, however, now faces the real possibility of getting removed from office. If that happens, what becomes of the referees’ “new organization” that does not adhere to the structure adopted among legitimate football associations in the country?

The referees are taking a huge gamble with this move. It also comes at a time when Philippine football is in a serious crisis of leadership.

A head of a football club in Cebu had this to say: “The referees’ actions are divisive. It does nothing to unite an already divided football community.”

22 August 2010

SEVERAL changes have been introduced in this year’s 13th Aboitiz Football Cup, which will kickoff on Aug. 29 and run until February 2011 at the Aboitiz Sports Field at the North Reclamation Area in Mandaue City.

Most notable of these is the raising of the registration fee of the age-groups from P1,000 last year to P2,500 this year.

Tournament director Adonis Quitoy said that as agreed by organizers Cebu Football Association (CFA) and the Aboitiz Group of Companies, the latter will finance the tournament while the CFA will keep whatever will be earned from the registration fees.

“What we get from the registration goes to the CFA funds to be used in office operations and give support to the coaches and referees’ development, so what they give basically goes back to them,” Quitoy explained.

He added that the amount is even lesser than registration fees pegged for football festivals which only run for a few days.

Allowing the CFA to earn from the registration is also Aboitiz’s way of supporting the football body.

The other change to be effected is the format play from cup-type to league-type except in the Division 2 of the Men’s Open. This means that the team with the most number of wins will earn the division title except in cases of ties.

The tournament features players 8,10, boys 12, boys and girls’ 15 and 17, men’s 38-above, men and ladies’ open.

Instead of last year’s Men's Cup and the Men's League, there will be two divisions for the Men's Open.

The top two teams in the Men's Cup and Men's League will be playing in Division 1 while the rest of the teams will play in Division 2.

Division 1 will have the league-type format while Division 2 will have the cup-type format wherein teams will be grouped into two with the top two teams in each group advancing to the crossover semifinals. /CORRESPONDENT MARS G. ALISON

AS the other 14 sporting events of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) comes off wraps this 9 a.m., the football event welcomes its newest partner, the Cebu Amateur Football Club (CAFC).

The CAFC headed by its president Glenn Quisido, a former varasity player, has answered the appeal made by CESAFI to help the league in any way.

“We want to engage the alumni group, the same as what the UAAP is doing. True enough, the club heeded the call. CAFC came forward to help, and we are very delighted,” said Maxi Maximo, the designated tournament director of the 10th CESAFI Football Championship.

The CAFC will take care of the technical management of the tournament.

With the participation of the CAFC, Maximo said CESAFI could now concentrate on how to bring the games closer to the public.

This year, football drew a record 10 schools in both collegiate and secondary divisions.

Vying in the collegiate class are defending champions University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R), University of San Carlos (USC), University of the Visayas (UV), University of Cebu (UC) and University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF).

The college champion will represent Cebu in the PRISAA Regional Finals.

The tournament will have a league-type format in the elimination with the top four teams advancing to the knockout semifinal round.

While the opening ceremonies will be held today, games will start Sept. 4 for secondary at the USC Talamban Campus and Sept. 5 for the collegiate division at the same venue. /CORRESPONDENT MARS G. ALISON

21 August 2010

THE Mayor Inday Sara and Rody Duterte 25th Kadayawan Sportsfest Football Tournament kicked off Saturday at the Tionko grounds.

The boys 16 years old and under, boys 14 and below and Football for Good categories were set to be played in a seven-A-side format while the ladies open was a nine-A-side competition.

The bootfest, organized by the Davao Football Association (DFA), will resume on August 28 featuring the boys 12 and under and 10-under, boys and girls eight-under, boys and girls six-under and elementary girls divisions.

The men's open first and second divisions and the 35-above category will be held on August 29.

The bootfest is organized in cooperation with the Sports Development Division of the City Mayor's Office, Ateneo de Davao United Football Club, the Davao Association of Tour Operators and the CWTS class of University of the Philippines (UP) Mindanao. (MLSA)

ABOITIZ Foundation Inc. is extending its support to local footballers from the pitch to the classroom.

Aboitiz Foundation president Jon Ramon Aboitiz said they are looking into the possibility of providing educational scholarships for players who excel in the classroom and in the game during this year’s 13th Aboitiz Football Cup.

“We will be identifying these kids who can excel both in their academics and in sports, and support them in achieving their dreams in whatever ways we can,” Aboitiz said.

The Aboitiz Cup, which started in 1997, has already produced a lot of accomplished football players like former national player Oliver Colina, who now coaches the RP Boys 14-Under team.

“The whole idea behind the Aboitiz Football Cup is the promotion of football among the youth of Cebu. This is how committed we are in supporting football in Cebu,” Aboitiz said.

The Aboitiz Foundation Inc. and the Cebu Football Association (CFA) signed a memorandum of agreement yesterday for this year’s tournament, which will start on Aug. 29 at the Aboitiz Sports Field in Mandaue City.

“I am pleased to see the growing popularity of football in Cebu. Since the Aboitiz Cup was launched, it is now Cebu’s premiere football event and the longest running age-group tournament. The Aboitiz Foundation will continue to support the AFC,” Aboitiz said.

This year, the Aboitiz Foundation increased their funding for the tournament from P690,000 to P1.1 million.

THERE will be new additions to the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. football tournament when it kicks off next month.

Aside from the return of former Cebu FA president Jonathan Maximo as tournament manager and the comeback of the University of San Carlos (USC)-Technology Center as the venue of the games, there will be two new teams—the Cebu Amateur Football Club (CAFC) and the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC).

The SHS-AdC is the newest addition in the high school division, which now has a total of five squads. The others are defending champion Don Bosco Technology Center, University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF), USC North Campus and University of San Jose-Recoletos.

CAFC, on the other hand, won’t be competing but will help run the tournament.

“They will assist in the management of the tournament,” Maximo said in an e-mail to Sun.Star Cebu. “To recall, we made an appeal to the football community, especially to the varsity players and alumni who are now successful in their professions to help in any way the school league. We want to engage the alumni group, the same as what Manila is doing. True enough, the club heeded the call and we are very delighted.”

18 August 2010

THE Holy Child Mintal and Catalunan Grande captured two titles apiece at the start of the Mayor Inday Sara and Vice Mayor Rody Duterte 25th Kadayawan Sportsfest Football Festival held in Mintal over the weekend.

Holy Child Mintal topped the nine to 10 years old category over Los Amigos and Catalunan Grande B, which settled for second and third place, respectively.

Holy Child also bested Montserrat Camp School of Davao and University of the Philippines (UP) Tigers to rule the 13 to 16 years event of the tournament presented by the City Government of Davao through the Sports Development Division of the City Mayor's Office (SDD-CMO).

In the girls elementary division, Catalunan Grande overcame Holy Child and Los Amigos Elementary School for the top post.

Montserrat, however, did not go home empty-handed as it bagged the six to eight years old crown of the meet organized by the CWTS class of UP Mindanao in partnership with Barangay Mintal and the Davao Football Association (DFA).

17 August 2010

INSTEAD of holding a practice last Saturday, FC Inter Cebu’s (FCIC) Manfred Schuwerk had an instant football tournament because around a hundred of under-14 footballers gathered at the grounds of Looc National High School.

Schuwerk was surprised to see the number of youngsters that came to Looc National High School in Lapu-Lapu City, and thus opted to start another one-day instant football competition.

Over three weeks ago, Schuwerk also had an instant tournament because the same thing happened.

On-the-spot

Schuwerk named his on-the-spot contest last Saturday as the Lapu-Lapu Junior World Cup, which comprised under-14 players from Lapu-Lapu City.

The tournament had a total of six teams, which were named from countries that contended, excluding the Philippines, in the recently ended 2010 World Cup.

The Under-14 team of Looc was dubbed as Argentina. Abuno team was named Spain and Looc U-12 squad as the Philippines. The other teams were Germany, Australia and Brazil, which were a mixture of different players from Lapu-Lapu City.

Matches

The teams played 20-minute matches in the round-robin format where the team with the most points wins the tournament.

Argentina came out the winner with 13 points from an unbeaten slate of four wins and a draw, Spain was at second with 11 points from three victories and two draws. Germany took third place with five points from a win, two draws and two losses.

16 August 2010

LONDON -- IN 2008 I officially became a resident of Cagayan de Oro city. My wife, who is from Gitagum, Misamis Oriental, convinced me to buy a nice five bedroom house at the posh Xavier Estates subdivision.

I was so impressed with the subdivision's football pitch that I told my wife to buy the house ASAP even without seeing the house. I thought that when my young son grows bigger and older he will learn how to kick ball on that pitch.

Year 2008 was also the year that the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) had a new president. There was lots of promise and every Filipino football fan was excited about what the new administration could bring in for football.

My excitement even went sky-high when the PFF president invited me to come to the AFC Challenge Cup qualification tournament in Iloilo city from May 13-17. I told the president I would be covering the tournament for the now defunct US based Pinoysoccer.com internet publication.

I would time my family holiday during that time. I would spend my own money for my trip. However, I asked him if the PFF could accommodate me and my photographer, meaning if the PFF could pay for our hotel. He agreed over the phone and we went to cover the event.

The Philippine team known as the Azkals missed the trip to the finals when they finished second to Tajikistan. The Azkals, then manned by some Filipino-Internationals from USA and UK, did not lose any match but dropped to second place with a lower goal difference.

They won over Brunei, 1-0, Bhutan 3-0, but was held by Tajikistan to a scoreless draw. The Tajiks only advanced when they plastered Brunei 4-1 in their last match.

When I brought my bill to the PFF the night before we were scheduled to leave Iloilo, the PFF president refused to pay my hotel bill. I did not argue with him and meekly just went back to the hotel. Right there and then I knew the character of this man. I do not have to elaborate.

After that incident, I promised myself not to call or talk to him again. I would just ignore him. After that tournament, Pinoysoccer.com folded up and the only decent publication about Philippine Football went down the drain including some of my investments.

The folding up of Pinoysoccer.com is another sad story on the history of Philippine football and PFF also has a hand in its closure. However, that issue would be another long, long story.

That incident also opened my eyes and convinced me that Philippine football is facing one of its darkest hours with this man in charge. Then and there I promised to cool off with Philippine football. Lots of people were asking me why the deafening silence? I was just fed up and saw no future in Philippine football.

And now why a sudden turnaround? It is because the PFF has hurt my beloved Cebu Football Association (CFA). I am so sorry CFA president Richard Montayre for not warning you about the current PFF president.

You see starting last year, the PFF has trumpeted their Vision Asia football development program and asked Cebu to spearhead the project. The Asian Football Confederation has allocated millions of pesos for the project. The CFA, hoping to raise the standard of play in the island of Cebu jumped on the project and got organized.

They picked coaches who were supposed to be paid by the Vision Asia money. Days came, then weeks, then months but where was the money promised for the coaches? Gone missing? So what do you expect? The project ground to a halt.

When Montayre went to Manila to look for the money he did not get any answer except for an email from the PFF president chiding him on why he wrote to the AFC to seek for the money. Again, Richard, I apologise to you. I could have warned you earlier.

Did the PFF expect this Vision Asia project to push through without a budget? This is just one of the many sins that the PFF has done to football. If I enumerate all of them I don't think it will fit into this entire sports page. What has this PFF administration done to football? Referees seminars? Coaches seminars? But where are the tournaments? What will the referees and coaches do without the tournaments?

What has this administration done to the money that the previous administration left behind and the millions that Sep Blatter of Fifa gifted to all its developing members? The PFF is one of the richest sports association in the Philippines. Just go to their headquarters in Makati and you will see how rich this association is. Just check where the president has travelled these past two years (and first class at that) and you will be scandalised with his extravagance.

And pocketing the coaches stipends is beyond my imagination. It is the lowest of the low. (In Bisaya gidaginot pa gyud)

I thought the PFF has a board of trustees? I thought these were good men? What are you going to do now? Remember this, ''Evil Triumphs When Good Men Do Nothing.''

This is a comment on my column, “It’s time to kick Martinez out of the PFF”

I am just reprinting it here.

Thanks,Mike——————–

BOG should stop saving kissing Martinez’s ass

Its not just Martinez who should be ousted. The spotlight should be likewise focused on some of the members of the PFF Board of Governors who to this day continue to protect Martinez ravenous greed in the gross misuse of PFF funds and looting the PFF Treasury.

Despite very alarming revelations of corruption such as but not limited to the use of PFF funds to pay for Martinez rental for his residential condo unit, to pay for his personal credit card expenses, expenses for car accessories, signing rights in Valle Verde Country Club for himself and his personal associates, and investing PFF funds in gambling activities by loaning football funds to casino financiers etc, a number of the PFF BOARD members have blocked moves to call an emergency meeting or a special board meeting to call for an immediate investigation and take necessary measures to ending looting, abusive, and corruptive practices of Martinez.

In addition, we should keep an extra watchful eye on Ramon B. Manlunas – President- Bukidnon FA and Jose V. Reniva – President- Camarines Norte FA. These two presidents signed the formal call for a Special Board Meeting but it has been reported that both seems to be incommunicado a few days before and after their very recent trip to Kuala Lumpur which included other Board Loyalist such as Aranaiz, Fucoy, and Cosmod and of course PFF Prexy Martinez. The purpose and objective of the trip is still undisclosed.

A few days after their arrival from KL Martinez was overheard by a PFF employee almost bragging to an officer of another Provincial FA na “LUSOT NA AKO SA KASO, HAWAK KO NA ANG BOG”.

A public appeal to Juan Luis Z. Carpio – President- Camarines Sur FA and Carlos O. Cojuangco – President- Negros Occidental FA to become active rather than passive or disengaged Board Members. You are not seating as representatives for your FA but representing and protecting the interest of the Visaya and Luzon Group.

More, someone must also look into the background of Mr. Henry Tsai. Tsai has been a long time associate of Mr. Martinez. His involvement in the PFF affairs is not accidental. It has been reported that presently the friendship between Martinez and Tsai has fallen apart —–money issues being the cause of the break up. Confirmed reports from very reliable sources have affirmed that Tsai has a long list of estafa cases filed with the NBI. Should this individual be trusted with PFF Funds? Would it be in the interest of the corporation to have Tsai as a signatory to PFF bank accounts especially when the PFF has no system on checks and balances.

Last Aug 11, 2010 he PFF received from FIFA it share for a one-time bonus payment to member associations for 2010, the equivalent to the regular yearly payment of USD 250,000 for each member association under the FIFA FAP Program. The Bonus is supposed to come in two payments—50% to be disbursed on Aug 11, 2010 and the balance on June 30, 2011. But should a member association request to receive the bonus in one installment such is possible upon a written request by July 31, 2010. With Martinez greed it is most likely that he requested for a one time installment and that the PFF must have now in their accounts the full bonus of USD 250,000.

Question is will it be Martinez or Philippine Football that will benefit from this bonus. There is no doubt unless the Board acts NOW the USD 250,000 will not go to Football Development but to Martinez and to his cohorts.

14 August 2010

Kuala Lumpur: AFC has announced that no team will be given a direct entry into the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup Finals.

Defending champions DPR Korea, runners-up Turkmenistan and third-placed Tajikistan will now have to go through the qualifiers to punch their tickets to the Finals.

In a letter to all Member Associations, AFC has also informed about the format of the competition which was ratified by the Executive Committee in its meeting on July 30, 2010, in Kuala Lumpur.

The following is the approved format for the said championship:

•All 22 eligible Member Associations will compete in qualifiers (or playoff, if necessary).•The final qualifying round shall consist of four groups of four teams each.•The winners and runners-up from each group (total eight teams) will qualify for the tournament proper.•If there are more than 16 teams, the teams are to play pre-qualifying round (Home and Away).•Only the eight qualified teams for the tournament proper can bid to host the Finals.

But the story in the final weekend belongs to the STC girls football team, who was the epitome of what support from the parents, teachers and administration can do to a team.

STC won, 2-1, in extra time over Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, a school with a strong football background.

Awesome STC

“After three tries, we finally won. This is nothing short of awesome,” said Aiko Manaloto, who scored the game’s winning goal. “This year has been great because we now have the support of the sisters.”

STC, ran by the ICM sisters, is known to be protective of its girls.

It had been hesitant in allowing their kids to play in a rough sport but was persuaded by the parents.

“The support of the parents and the girls’ determination convinced the school to allow them to play,” said teacher Ella Rose Averilla.

Lou Ann Empenado, one of the parents of the team, said, “We are very proud of them. These girls have worked hard for this. Considering they have not practiced even once this week because of the exams and unlike their opponents, they practice in a small, uneven field, so for them to win is very impressive.”

Three years ago, a team of football players from STC forced themselves to play despite hesitation from the school. They trained by themselves and even brought their own uniforms. They finished with a bronze medal right away. And things took a huge turn this year.

12 August 2010

I got a couple of letters the last few days and they are both interesting. I’ve copied the text and pasted it here. The two letters are in JPG form and in PDF format and I thought it would be better if I’d just paste the text here since I don’t know how to upload a PDF file here and the jpeg version is low-res.

PS. By the way, a Manila reporter was contacted by former RP coach’s Des Bulpin’s agent to clarity that his client resigned because his pay got delayed. Wait for it in the news. That agent is planning to report the matter to Fifa.

11 August 2010

AS CALLS for his removal continue to mount, Philippine Football Federation president Mari Martinez is facing another issue that could prove his undoing.

The issue involves his links with a certain Henry Tsai, which some members of the PFF Board of Governors have questioned in relation to several transactions involving PFF funds.

Tsai’s name first surfaced in a Nov. 11, 2009 sports article published in a national broadsheet. “Martinez said football patrons Dan Palami and Henry Tsai will shoulder the expenses of (Des) Bulpin’s stay in Manila,” the report read. Bulpin was the English coach hired by the PFF to coach the Philippine Men’s National Team but resigned under mysterious circumstances last month.

(During his visit along with members of the team last weekend, I asked Palami whether he knew Tsai and what his role was in financing the national team. The question caught Palami by surprise. Apparently he was unaware of whatever arrangement Tsai and the PFF had. I did not pursue the question in deference to Palami, who is dead serious about forging a winning team.)

Several issues have been hurled against Martinez over the past few years since he took office in 2007, but the issue involving Tsai is most intriguing.

One of those questioning Martinez’s ties with Tsai is Mariano “Nonong” Araneta Jr., a member of the PFF Board of Governors, who wrote the PFF president a letter dated July 28, 2010.

Sun.Star Cebu secured a copy of the signed letter that sought Martinez’s “clarification” on an investment using PFF Inc. (PFFI) funds “to Mr. Henry Tsai in the amount of P1,500,000 and $30,000 more or less.”

Araneta sought clarification from Martinez, the chairman of the board, on the following points:

Under whose authority was the investment of the PFFI funds made?

What is the nature of the investment? Who are the contracting parties?

When was the investment made?

What are the basic terms and conditions of the investments?

What is the current status of the investment?

Araneta wants Martinez to “help enlighten the undersigned and the other members of the PFFI Board of Governors concerning the investment.” (I called up Araneta’s office yesterday to confirm whether Martinez has replied, but the person on the other linetold me his boss was on leave.)

Other members of the board had questions of their own.

A week after Araneta sent his letter, Cebu Football Association president Richard Montayre and Negros Occidental Football Association president Dick Emperado wrote Martinez to ask him about PFF checks that were returned because of insufficient funds.

One of the signatories was Tsai.

“In connection with the incidents in Mindanao regarding the issued checks to the participating Football Associations for the Filipino Premier League, we noted that some of the checks were returned due to insufficient funds and that one of the signatories of the checks was Mr. Henry Tsai,” read the letter dated Aug. 5, 2010 and signed by Montayre and Emperado.

The two board members wanted to know who approved to make Tsai as signatory, and whether there was a board resolution for the approval.

The Filipino football community wants to know as well. There’s been talk of setting up a “truth commission” to investigate the transactions, as well as other issues of national embarrassment, particularly the “missing” funds that the Asian Football Confederation had set aside for the Vision Philippines program.

With all these allegations of irregularities cropping up on a weekly basis, it’s high time for a commission to extract the truth from Martinez and his ilk. I wonder what the rest of the Board of Governors are waiting for.

10 August 2010

A couple of nights ago, an e-mail with an attached letter from the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) popped up in the Footnote inbox.

The letter, a PDF file dated Aug. 3, 2010, was addressed to Cebu Football Association (CFA) president Richard Montayre. It bore the PFF letterhead and was signed by PFF president Jose Mari Martinez. Copies were furnished to the CFA board of directors and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Vision Asia Department.

Martinez apparently is furious that the CFA has been directly writing the AFC to inquire about the Vision Philippines project with Cebu as pilot area.

The PFF president’s letter begins: “Enough is enough.”

(Before I continue, allow me say that those three words are a real classic. It grabs the recipient by the scruff and makes him pay attention as he quakes in his socks.)

“The PFF has been very lenient and accommodating to the needs of CFA to survive as a pilot project in the AFC Vision Philippines program. You have been advised countless times that anything that has to do with AFC must be coursed through the PFF so we can review the documents and support and follow the Vision Program,” says Martinez.

“Apparently as I understand, you are not clear with my English language,” he adds.

Martinez then cites meetings in Kuala Lumpur and Cebu where they supposedly discussed these matters.

The CFA launched the Vision Philippines-Cebu project last January. Several weeks later, the project ground to a halt. The reason: the PFF failed to send funds for the project, the CFA claimed.

The PFF, however, insists: “You very well know that the direction of the Vision Cebu/Philippines is geared more towards Football Development, and this has also been stressed by AFC in letters they sent, but you choose to insist otherwise. If you have coursed all these through the proper channels, this could have been avoided,” Martinez says.

“Further, may I remind you again that the AFC Vision Asia program is not a financial assistance program. As such, there is no financial subsidy from AFC in this regard.”

Granted the CFA did err in “bypassing” channels of communication, one can’t help but ask: Why did the CFA bypass the PFF in the first place?

Another point that confuses me is the PFF’s statement that the programs are not “financial assistance” programs but are “geared more towards football development.”

But how in the world can anyone pursue development of this magnitude without funds?

In his letter, Martinez admits that the AFC released 50 percent of the P10 million that the AFC president pledged during the PFF Congress in 2008, with the balance supposed to be released in 2009.

“Please be reminded that this token was given under the good graces of the AFC president and to only assist in the initiatives and events under the said program. PFFwas given a guideline on the budget allocation for the project,” he says.

I wonder, do the guidelines say distribution of the funds also depends on the “good graces” of the PFF president?

Apparently, the CFA board’s convictions have left Martinez in a foul mood.

“Because of the present pressing relationship between PFF and your association, and your stubbornness to continue to directly deal with the AFC instead of PFF, shows me a clear picture of your arrogance. It has also left me no choice but to decide for CFA to go on its own directions towards Vision Philippines.”

The PFF gave the CFA two days to respond why the PFF should take “drastic moves to your actions.”

Last Thursday evening, the CFA Board reportedly met and replied to the PFF through e-mail. It also furnished copies “to all the FAs in the country” as well as media outlets. However, Sun.Star Cebu Sports and the Footnote inbox have yet to receive any copy. So we wait.

Footvolley in the Philippines is starting to gain attention. If you want to play the sport and at the same time have a great vacation in the Philippines, then we would like to invite your Footvolley Club to participate in the 1st Philippine Footvolley International Tournament to be held in Fairways and Bluewater, a ...five star hotel, located in Boracay Island, the number one tourist destination in the Philippines from the October 23-24, 2010... this is the website of the venue:

Union football school will have a goalkeeping session with our Persian Goal Keeper Shohaib this month of August. This is open for players age 10-16. Those who are interested can contact us via FB soon!

MANILA, Philippines - The Moran Foundation will hold the “Football for Good Challenge Festival” on Aug. 14 at the La Salle-Greenhills, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The one-day football festival is being held for the less fortunate kids aged 13-16 years old coming from institutions like Gawad Kalinga, Tuloy sa Don Bosco, Nayon ng Kabataan and Manila Boys Town, among others.

“Football for Good Challenge Festival is the first of several football festivals that we are organizing this year under the Henry V. Moran Foundation, of which I am head of football programs,” said Ed Formoso.

The football charity is being called “Football for the Good of Others,” which is being done to help poor kids have a good time and provide them hope through the sport, the most popular sport in the world but never in the country.

As a foundation, the Moran Foundation already helped send kids to play in international tournaments like the Homeless World Cup in 2008 in Melbourne, Australia and 2009 in Milan, Italy.

In this year’s Homeless World Cup in South Africa, the Filipino street kids turned in a remarkable performance.

08 August 2010

THERE’s a brewing war between PFF president Mari Martinez and the Cebu Football Association and I hope it will result to Martinez getting sacked and being held accountable for the funds the organized used while he is office.

Martinez sent a scathing letter last Aug. 3 to CFA president Richard Montayre, calling the Cebuano an arrogant, stubborn man who has poor comprehension of the English language.

That letter was the result of CFA’s numerous inquiries to the Asian Football Confederation on where the AFC Vision Asia funds for Cebu went, because they suspect thse were being held by the PFF.

Since they don’t trust the PFF president, the office was naturally bypassed.

Martinez, obviously, wasn’t pleased, hence that letter.

(By the way, the PFF president shouldn’t be pissed about being bypassed. It’s what he did to the CFA when he offered the management of the RP U14 team to a Cebu club, didn’t he?

Montayre, too, wasn’t pleased. Aside from telling the PFF president to get his facts straight, he wrote, “This clearly (shows) a lack of commitment and support from the PFF to the CFA, (there is a) lack of transparency of the PFF, not only to the CFA, but also to the rest of the 32 football associations in the country.”Bravo!

Finally, someone has the guts to call a spade, a spade.

Finally, someone has the guts to stand up to Martinez.

Will we be rid of him, finally?

Though Montayre fell short of calling for Martinez’s resignation, I hope that letter, also sent to the 32 FAs, is enough to wake the slumbering associations from their stupor—Philippine football is dead and Martinez is to blame.

The last time I checked, PFF gets close to P25 million a year from Fifa, AFC, and the AFF but had zero national tournaments since Martinez took over.

That’s excluding half of the P10 million the AFC gave to Martinez in 2008, the year when grumblings of his allged mismanagement of the PFF surfaced and moves to have him ousted, started.

That move died.

I was so pissed with how a key figure in that oust Martinez movement, suddenly sang praises to Martinez. That’s when I started to lose interest in anything related to Philippine football—let them gorge themselves to death for all I care.

Now, there is hope.

It’s time to kick Martinez out of the PFF!

But to be realistic, though, because he is the still the PFF president, Martinez can still cling to power—think Gloria with a smaller budget—and can and will pressure the CFA for vengeance.

But the CFA shouldn’t be worried. What’s the worst the PFF can do?

Ban Cebu from national tournaments? There’s none! Ban anybody from Cebu from joining the RP team? That will only fuel the fire.

It’s too sad that the missing AFC Vision Asia funds have forced the CFA to freeze its projects in Cebu.

But fret not. I just learned this week good things come to those who wait.

So I’m pretty sure the CFA will have its work cut out for them as they try to promote grassroots development in the province of Cebu—something the PFF should be doing for the whole country.

Darn, I’d better fire off my own letter, too.

P.S. By the way, just in case my English wasn’t clear enough:

It’s time to kick Martinez out of the PFF! It’s time to kick Martinez out of the PFF! It’s time to kick Martinez out of the PFF!

The San Carlos City Negros Football Club, in partnership with the Department of Education and the San Carlos City Sports Office launched its football development program for elementary girls thru a competition among different schools in the city.

Organized to introduce girls as young as 10 years old to playing football in the field, the league type competition drew participation from six schools – Florentina Elementary School, Colegio De Santa Rita, Greenville Elementary School, School of the Future Team A & B, and the Andres Bonifacio Central school.

The league opened on July 24 and will end on August 14 with Florentina Elementary School leading in the team standing with three wins and one draw. Sharing the No. 2 spot are Colegio De Santa Rita and School of the Future with two wins and two draws.

Carmona said the series of achievements of their club is due to a well-organized program supported by San Carlos City Mayor Gerardo Valmayor Jr., Congressman Jules Ledesma IV and San Julio Realty Inc.*NAB

ON a warm Saturday morning on an unkempt patch of grass, dozens of Cebuano children had an experience of a lifetime: being trained by members of the Philippine Men’s National Team in a free football clinic.

Team manager Dan Palami brought five core players—including team captain Ali Borromeo and Emilio Caligdong—to help development organization Global Exchange with its signature campaign to send millions of children to school through football.

“The Men’s National Team is aware of its social responsibilities,” said Palami, who spends his own fortune in running the national team.

Asked why he does it, the unassuming president of the Leyte Football Association said: “I’ve always felt that the private sector should be involved.”

Palami’s dedication to the sport is beyond question, as he runs the team like a professional club.

Right now, the team’s energies are geared towards the AFC Suzuki Cup that kicks off on Oct. 20. A week before that, the team will join a tournament in Chinese Taipei on Oct. 8 to 14.

One of Palami’s most pressing concerns is finding a head coach, following the surprise resignation of Englishman Des Bulpin last month.

Palami clarified that Bulpin still serves as the Philippine team’s consultant and “continues to communicate with the coaching staff, with Edwin Cabalida serving as acting head coach.”

Palami left Bulpin’s departure at that, and zeroed in on finding his replacement.

“We now have a shortlist of head coaches from the UK, US, Italy and Spain,” Palami said. “We want somebody experienced in coaching ranked clubs.”

“By hiring foreign coaches, we get to transfer knowledge from experienced foreign coaches to Filipino coaches, who are actually qualified but simply lack experience,” said the team manager, adding that the national team can expect a new coach by September.

In agreeing to manage and finance the team, Palami told the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) to give the National Team Management Office “autonomy.”

“We want to operate independently,” he says. “So far, the PFF has been respecting our wishes.”

“We want to make sure we’re focused on our short to medium-term objectives of raising the Philippine team’s FIFA rankings by winning international competitions,” Palami said.

So what’s his long-term goal?

“Qualifying for the World Cup 2018,” Palami said, with a wry smile, and left it at that.

07 August 2010

FILIPINO and British volunteers and a few members of the RP National Football Men’s squad held a free football clinic at the University of San Carlos Montessori football grounds yesterday.

More than 100 children joined the workout headed by team captain Ali Borromeo and 18 volunteers of Global Xchange (GX) program, a partnership of the British Council and VSO Bahaginan.

The one-day football clinic is part of GX’s support for “1GOAL :Education for All,” which was launched in line with the Fifa 2010 World Cup.

The objective of “1GOAL :Education for All” is to collect signatures from all over the world and to call on world leaders to fund the education of 72 million underprivileged children worldwide.

“We are calling on world leaders to use money wisely rather than use it on nuclear weapons,” GX British volunteer Bridget Hutchings told Sun.Star Cebu.

The group has gathered 14,963,617 signatures since its website—www.join1goal.org—was launched.

Among the renowned footballers who have joined the cause are Brazilian legend Pele, French legend Zinedine Zidane, Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo and Spanish ace striker David Villa.

“We are here to support and to let the people know that the Men’s national team our aware of its social responsibility outside of football,” said Dan Palami, the financier of the RP National Men’s team.

Aside from Borromeo, other RP team members present in the free football clinic were midfielder Emelio Caligdong, goalkeeper Eduard Sacapaño and forwards Yanti Bersales and Ian Araneta.

“We had at least 120 participants, which is more than what we expected,” said Filipino volunteer Karl Molina, who expected the event to be graced by only 50 footballers.

The GX volunteers along with a few Hiroshi members played against the RP national squad and its coaching staff in a friendly seven-a-side match to end the successful day.

06 August 2010

The PFF president has drawn the line. All you football fans out there, it’s time to show our love for Cebu football.

Forget your differences. It’s not the time for bickering.

Now is the time to unite.

Support the CFA.

“Excerpt of letter of the PFF to the CFA”Because of the present pressing relationship between the PFF and your association, and your stubborness to continue to directly deal with the AFC instead of PFF, shows me a clear picture of arrogance. It has also left me no choice but to decide for CFA to go on its own directions towards Vision Philippines.

The PFF is giving you two working days from the date of this letter to decide whether or not PFF will need to decide drastic moves and changes due to your actions or non-action thereof.”

DECA Homes Resort and Residences (DHRR) plays host to the "Football Liga ng Kabataaan," which kicks off at 8 a.m. today, Saturday, at the DHRR soccer field in Barangay Tacunan, Mintal, Tugbok District in Davao City.

Davao Football Association (DFA) general secretary Erwin Protacio said Friday that the league aims to create awareness on the sport in the city's Third District.

"It also aims to provide a diversion program that will promote health and fitness and produce talented players who will represent the city to future competitions," Protacio said.

Catalunan Grande, Tacunan - Deca Homes, Mintal, UP Tigers and Holy Child School of Mintal will compete in the 11 to 13 years old and 10-under categories. The teams will play on a double-round elimination format.

Protacio said matches will be played every Saturday. The hosting of the games will be rotated among the participants.

Third district Representative Isidro T. Ungab and councilor Rachel Zozobrado are the invited guests during the opening rites that will also have Tacunan barangay captain Arnold Asobe, Councilor Benedict Adan of Mintal, 8990 Housing Development Corporation assistant general manager Mary Ann T. Chua and DFA president Rafael "Pops" Vilela as guests.

Ungab will donate the trophies and medals at stake for the winners. (MLSA)

05 August 2010

ELEVEN members of the RP national team will be in to Cebu for the 1GOAL: Education for all Football Clinics this Saturday at the University of San Carlos (USC) Montessori Grounds.

“We initiated this free football clinic to create awareness about the 1GOAL advocacy which is to eradicate poverty through education,” said Toni Zuñiga, a volunteer of the Global Xchange (GX) program.

He added the Philippine national team will be flying to Cebu for a one-day free football clinic for young people who wish to learn or to improve their skills.

“There is no limit to the number of participants and as well as the age of the participants and it is open for boys and girls,” Zuniga said. He added he will also try to get people to sign up for this advocacy.

The clinic will be from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. After the clinic, there will also be an exhibition game between the RP team and the GX British and Filipino volunteers.

“Our British volunteers are also football players,” Zuniga said.

He added he has tapped Eleazar Toledo of the Cebu Football Association for help in their one-day clinic.

This is the second time the RP men’s team will play in the Cebu. The team also played a friendly against the Cebu All-Stars in April, 2008.

Manila will be hosting AFC U-16 Women’s Championship qualifiers from 15. to 24. October .

Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Guam are in Group A (ASEAN/East group) while India, Uzbekistan, Iran, Jordan and Bahrain are pooled in Group B (South and Central/West group). Top teams from each group will qualify to Round 2.

DEFENDING champion Medvil Football Club drew another stellar performance from Jomar Acedo to dominate Ebocci FC, 5-0, in the Acer Cup Under-23 football tournament at the Tionko grounds over the weekend.

Acedo scored two goals in leading the Medvil attack, and Francis Philip Acala, Roelfred Napuran and Luis Jardine Garcia added a goal each to complete scoring in the one-sided match.

The victory was Medvil's sixth without a loss. The team, coached by Ramonito Carreon, kept its solo lead in the team standings with 19 points.

Acala drew first blood with a goal in the 12th, and Napuran quickly made it 2-0 by finding the net three minutes later. Acedo scored the first of his two goals in the 30th.

Garcia joined the scoring parade in the 36th to make it 4-0, before Acedo struck anew in the 38th as Medvil put the match beyond recall with a first half blitzkrieg that instantly finished off Ebocci.

Seagull relied on Emerson Roy Demegillo and Francisco Iligan, who scored two goals each. Demegillo knocked in goals in the 17th and 38th, while Iligan added in the 52nd and 86th. Clifford Dacera scored in the 25th while Jovem Benitez struck in the 68th.

Amad Casimiro scored KMMPC's only goal in the 58th.

Columbia is occupying third place with nine points on three wins against a defeat. KMMPC, toting a 2-0-4 card, earned six points to stay at fourth place.

The football tournament is presented by Acer Philippines in cooperation with the Davao Football Association (DFA) and Columbia Computer Center. (MLSA)

03 August 2010

THE first National Milo Little Olympics secondary division football champion, Abellana National School (ANS), is geared up for a repeat of its championship run despite having a different lineup.

Although most of its key players have left the championship team, ANS head coach Francis Ramirez is still optimistic his squad will defend its title, starting with the 15th Milo Little Olympics – Visayas this Saturday at the Cebu City Sports Complex (CCSC).

“Our preparations are ongoing and we are adjusting to the seven-a-side format.

Hopefully we will be able to defend our crown in the Visayas and the nationals,” said Ramirez.

Majority of the team’s top players, which includes ace striker and team captain Carlito Abadia, are not coming back this year because they are no longer eligible to play.

New lineup

“Only five players are left from last year’s team,” Ramirez said.

Despite the major alteration in ANS’s roster, Ramirez is still confident they will be as equally competitive as last year because the new players are familiar with the team’s system.

The players from ANS’s 14-Under squad, who also acted as the main team’s practice players last year, filled the void left by Abadia and company.

“The good thing is that we still have veterans left who can man the team,” said Ramirez.

ANS beat Paref-Springdale, 3-1, in the final match of the Visayas finals behind the heroics of Abadia, who scored the final two goals.

ANS went on to win the national Milo Little Olympics title in dominating fashion, beating Mindanao, 6-0, in October.

A total of 15 teams will be competing for the secondary division title of the Visayas leg of the 15th Milo Little Olympics. The winner will represent Visayas in the national tournament.

Ramirez thinks their biggest threat for the title will be Springdale. “Because they get better every year,” Ramirez said.

“Don Bosco is also there because they are the same team that won the Palarong Pamabansa. Sacred Heart is also good and we also have to watch out for the out-of-town team, Siliman, which has a striker who played for the national team.”

The 15th Milo Little Olympics —Visayas will have a press conference and launching, which will be attended by Vice Mayor Joy Young, Nestle Philippines Inc. top executive Pat Goc-ong, organizer Ricky Ballesteros and tournament manager Dr. Danilo Villadolid, today at the CCSC.

Catalunan Grande took the runner-up honors while UP Mindanao placed third.July Bunac was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Sheena Casmiro copped the best goalkeeper award in the event sanctioned by Davao Football Association (DFA) and organized by Siki ni Oble and the CWTS class of the Department of Kinetics.